Do you own a car? If so, I’m sure you will have had people telling you all sorts of car cleaning tips. You will even have heard about things that you should avoid doing. But how can you tell whether these people know what they are saying?

It can be hard to find out what’s fact and what’s fallacy in the car detailing world. Which is why in today’s blog post, I am making it my mission to debunk some common car cleaning myths! Check them out below:

I have lost count of the number of people that have suggested washing your car with dishwashing liquid is a great idea!

Dishwashing liquid is awesome at removing food stains, grease and oil from your pots and pans. But it’s terrible with cars, because it strips away polymers and silicone. In other words, it will strip away any wax or polish products that you use on your car!

You should stick with chemicals and detergents made just for automotive use. You also wouldn’t want to use car shampoo products to clean your dishes and cutlery!

Myth: you shouldn’t use detailing clay

Clay bars are great products are always used by professional detailers. Some people suggest that car owners shouldn’t use these products on their vehicles.

The same naysayers will tell you that detailing clay will also ruin your paintwork! To be honest, I have never heard of anything more absurd in my life!

Once you wash your car, the detailing clay will remove any dirt embedded in the clear-coat layer on your paintwork. Your bodywork will feel silky smooth afterwards, and you can wax it afterwards.

Myth: you don’t need to wash your car all the time

That myth is an excuse used by lazy people that don’t want to wash their cars! The layers of paint and lacquer used on cars are thin.

If any dirt gets embedded in the paint, it can cause damage to it. Wash your car every week to keep its paintwork and bodywork in tip-top condition. There are other benefits to regular car washing:

Safety – your windows and lights won’t restrict your vision, and other motorists will be able to see your car at night;

Value – Hilton Garage is a car dealership. They say cars are more valuable if owners wash their paintwork and bodywork on a regular basis;

Aesthetics – your street cred will increase if you drive around in a clean and shiny car!

Myth: only resprays can remove scratches

It is true that some deep scratch marks will need a respray. But for most minor scratches, you can polish them away. Bear in mind that polish removes a bit of the clear coat layer to “blend” in with the paintwork.

What you must remember is that car polish will remove scratches and that you should use wax to protect the paintwork. This is a two-stage process; don’t use all-in-one products as they seldom work.